Method of and means for fuel injection for internal-combustion motors



Dec. 18, E923. 7 11,477,984!- J.H.SUTER METHOD OF-AND MEANS FOR FUEL INJECTION FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION MOTORS Filed June 7, 1920 "/8 Fig. .2

lllHlHl Patented Dec. lid, i923.

lfil iltdde entree stares earner cornice.

JOHN H. same, or nos enemas, CALIFORNIA.

TMETHQD OF AND MEANS FOR FUEL 1N3 EGTION FOR TNTERNAL-COMEUSTIUN MOTORS.

Application filed time 7, 1920. Serial nojaenoae.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN H. Swrnn, a

citizen of the Republic of Switzerland, residing at Los Angeles, in thecounty of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Method of and Means for Fuel injection for Internal-Combustion Motors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines of the type in which hydrocarbon oil or other vaporizable fuel 18 introduced into the cylinder and ignited by reason of the temperature attained by the highly compressed air contained therein.

The present invention relates to a method and means for forcing the charge of fuel in to the cylinder against the highly compressed air-therein.

.means have been devised employing an auxiliary chamber in communication 'with the cylinder, into which chamber the oil is introduced and a portion of the charge in the chamber is caused to ignite by reason of 2 the heat of the compressed air. A foul or primary explosion then occurs which ejects the remainder of the charge into the cylinder. Devices of this character have met with two primary difiiculties. lit has been the common practice to introduce the fuel charge substantially coincident with the instant of greatest compression of the air in i the cylinder. This requires careful timing of the events. Another trouble encountered has been that of cracking of thehydrocarbon due to the heat retained by the walls of the chamber, and premature explosions also occur. In some constructions, the structure of the chamber and its associated parts has been purposely designed to distill some of the hydrocarbon. A residue results from the cracking and distillation, which clogs the passages of the chamber and soon renders the device inoperative.

The objects of 'my invention are to provide a means and method of introducing the charge into the cylinder by means of a foul eitplosion in an auxiliary chamber, which, first, will not produce carbonaceous deposits;

to second, will not require exact timing for the introduction of the charge into the chamber; and third, will direct the fuel charge into the clearance space of the engine and not upon the piston.

Certain methods and- T accomplish these objects by means of the engine illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. '1 is a vertical section of the'upper end of an engine cylinder equipped for carrying out my invention; Fig. 2 is a tragmentary section as seen on the line 2- -2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged section as seen on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 4: indicates the cylinder of an internal combustion engine having a piston 5 disposed therein. Mounted in the head 6 of said cylinder is the fuel injection device em-- ployed in'earrying out my invention.

At the internal wall of the cylinder and extendin through the head is an opening for the uel injection device. It comprises an injection'nozzle 7 held in position between an annular shoulder 8 and a follower 9. A plug 10 is held in positionbetween the nozzle and the follower. Mounted in the plug is a fuel nozzle 11, which extends into a chamber in the injection nozzle.

The injection nozzle 7 is formed with an internal chamber 12 extending longitudinally therein, and communicating at its inner or discharge end with an outlet passage 13, preferably flattened and diverging to ward ducts 14 for spraying the charge into the clearance space of the cylinder transverse of the piston travel. The upper endof chamber 12 is counterbored to receive the plug 10. The injection nozzle 7 isrecessed externally adjacent the contracted end, as indicated by 15, to form passages for the circulation of water from the water jacket 16 in the cylinder head. i

The plug 10 has an enlarged lower end snugly fittlng in the counter-bore of the injection nozzle. The upper end is of the reduced diameter and extends through an opening in the follower 9. The latter has an extension engaging the shoulder of the plug, forming a gland as well as holding the plug in position. The nozzle 11 ends at the counterbore in the plug 10, in which is disposed a cage 17 containing a check valve. Connected to the cage by any suitable means is a fuel supply pipe 18 for supplying liquid fuel under pressure to the nozzle.

It will be noted that the injection nozzle is completely surrounded by a water jacket, thereby maintaining the auxiliary chamber Elli ' an important feature of my inventiom'as ber 12. Some of cylinder of the engine.

will be later noted. I

The operation of the invention is as follows:

' During the compression stroke of the engine, air (which has been drawn into the cylinder during the preceding stroke ina four cycle engine,or forced into the cylinder at the beginning'of the compression stroke in a two cycle engine) is compressed in cylinder 4t, and a part of such compressed airpasses into the chamber 12 through the ducts 14. At or before the end of the compression stroke, liquid fuel is forced (by suitable means operated by the engine) through pipe 18 and nozzle 11 into the chamthe fuel charge is mixed with theair forming an explosive charge filling a portion of the chamber. 12. lVhen the air in the chamber has reached a temperature (due. to compression), which is above the ignition temperature for the fuel to be used, combustion of the explosive charge immediately takes place, resulting in a sudden increase of pressure of the gases in the chamber 12, which, forces the remainder of the fuel charge outwardly through the ducts 14 into the cylinder of the engine. The fuel injected into the cylinder ignites and the piston 5 is forced outwardly.

The walls of the injection nozzle and its chamber are maintained at a uniform temperature by the cooling water of the jacket. For this reason there Will be no cracking of the fuel in the chamber, or distillation leaving a residue on the walls thereof. The cooling also has another efi'ect. Air in the auxiliary chamber increases in temperature proportionate to the increase of pressure in the Due to the contracted area of the ducts 14., there will be a lag of pressure in the auxiliary chamber behind that in the cylinder of the engine. However, the increase of pressure and temperature of the air in the auxiliary chamber will be proportionate to that in the main cylinder. There will be no ignition of the fuel charge in the auxiliary chamber until the air has been com ressed to the point of ignition of the fuel. ue to the fact that the chamber is kept cool, there is substantially no variation of the time at Which ignition will occur relative to the compression in the cylinder of the engine. For this reason, fuel may be injected into the auxiliary chamber at any time after thefirst stroke begins, and the ignition takes place under more ideal conditions, if the fuel is injected before the 1,4l77,uee

, end of the compression stroke. The time at which the event of ignition occurs 1s solely cumulation of energy therein. After the exthere is a gradual expansion of the plosion,

forcing some gases in the accumulator zone of the remaining fuel charge outwardly through the ducts over an appreciable period of the power stroke, thereby approaching more nearly the ideal Diesel engine cycle. It will also be noted that fuel is sprayed transversely of the travel of the piston and into the clearance space. If fuel is sprayed directly upon the engine piston or walls, it will have a tendency to be condensed with the result of forming carbonaceous deposits.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with the water jacketed cylinder of an internal combustion engine having two aligned concentric openings extending through the outer and inner walls of the cylinder head adjacent the cylinder wall, an injection nozzle comprising a conical chamber communicating through restricted openings with said cylinder, fuel being injected into said chamber before the end of the compression stroke and then mixed with air from the cylinder forced through said openings during the compression stroke whereby a primary explosion occurs which forces the fuel chargeinto the cylinder, said injection nozzle being formed with a cylindrical body which is mounted in the openings in said head, the reduced inner or'discharge end of said nozzle being disposed to enter the cylinder at its side, a plug closing the top of said chamber, and a fuel nozzle extending through said plug into said chamber. v

2. The combination as specified in claim 1 characterized by the cylindrical body of the injection nozzle having the material around the reduced inner or discharge end of the chamber removed up to the height of the inner end of the fuel nozzle so as to increase the cooling efi'ect.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereuntosubscribed my name this 1st day of June, 1920.

Jenn n. sultan. 

